TMAO as a marker for excess deuterium
Seneff et al. also discuss trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), the controversial compound linked to heart disease. They propose that elevated TMAO serves as a useful marker of excess deuterium in the body.
When the gut microbiome is disrupted (e.g., by glyphosate), beneficial archaea that normally metabolize trimethylamine (TMA) into methane are depleted.
Then, TMA accumulates and is converted in the liver to TMAO. Because this pathway involves deuterium-sensitive steps, high TMAO levels reflect impaired microbial processing of choline-derived methyl groups and a resulting buildup of deuterium in methylation pathways and mitochondria.
Thus, TMAO can be viewed as a downstream signal of deuterium overload stemming from gut dysbiosis, which is pretty interesting!
The Dark Side: Synthetic Supplements
Even more interesting (and controversial):
Seneff et al. suggest that synthetic choline and methionine supplements may be problematic precisely because they are manufactured in labs and therefore contain normal (higher) levels of deuterium. Naturally occurring versions from food, processed by microbes, are naturally deupleted.
This could explain why some people feel worse on certain supplements despite “correcting deficiencies.”
If this hypothesis is correct, potential advice might be:
Prioritize natural food sources of nutrients like choline and methionine over synthetic supplements whenever possible
Be cautious with broad-spectrum antibiotics that might disrupt native beneficial species
Reduce exposure to toxins that impair methylation (like organophosphate pesticides and glyphosate)
Support overall microbiome balance — dysbiosis appears to be a key factor in losing this deuterium-protective pathway